Quantum Monsters are monsters born from the energy of the Sea of Quanta. In the game's setting, Quantum and Imaginary types mutually counter each other; attacking either with the other type reduces damage.
The method to counter both types of monsters is to attack them with the same attribute.
Of course, the game couldn't make this mechanic absolute; otherwise, if there were no strong corresponding attribute characters, how would the game be played?
So, for the game to be playable, in the game, this was merely changed to reduced damage.
But in reality…
"I remember now! I was so stupid!"
Takatsuki waved his hand, and the energy he controlled transformed into a sharp blade, striking the monsters before him.
Just a simple energy slash left deep, bone-visible wounds on the monsters that had been immune to damage just moments ago.
"So it was due to elemental counter. These monsters aren't that strong after all."
Realizing his mistake, Takatsuki quickly controlled the surrounding energy to form attacks, annihilating these monsters.
The Sea of Quanta is vast.
No one has ever measured its extent.
In any case, Takatsuki was certain it was larger than Earth.
For the next few days, he kept moving forward in the Sea of Quanta by propelling himself with the surrounding energy.
He encountered multiple monster attacks along the way, but he repelled them all.
Within the Sea of Quanta, Takatsuki could only rely on his terminal to determine the time. Prolonged energy manipulation made him increasingly skilled, to the point where this ability was ingrained in his instincts. Now, he could even move while operating the system.
Because it was so boring, Takatsuki began to study his system, calculating whether to upgrade his skills or draw cards.
According to his calculations, upgrading a skill to max level using skill scrolls would require 1024 level one scrolls.
And it would cost sixteen thousand five hundred crystals.
Which was the value of three thousand draws.
It seemed that drawing cards was more cost-effective, and a ten-pull only guaranteed one supernatural ability character card…
"It seems it's still not realistic to max out skills by relying on card draws."
Despite saying this, Takatsuki still spent 500 crystals to draw a new S-rank character.
"Looks like my luck hasn't been great lately."
Closing the gacha interface, Takatsuki glanced at the newly drawn S-rank character card.
Conqueror of the Fire Hell · Belial
"I really do have a strong affinity with fire."
Muttering this, Takatsuki tossed the character card into the Decomposition machine (disassembler)
He also threw in the other low-level character cards for good measure.
The other common skill cards need no further mention, but the Conqueror of the Fire Hell yielded two skill cards upon disassembly.
[Talent Skill: Demonic Power LV6]
[Flame Hell Power LV3: Can manipulate flames and transform into flames]
"Can an S-rank character card be disassembled into two skill scrolls?"
Takatsuki had never disassembled an S-rank character card before, but A-rank character cards, regardless of how many skills they possessed, could only be disassembled into one.
Demonic Power was an old friend, so he wouldn't elaborate. Takatsuki also didn't plan to use this skill scroll, instead applying other basic skills and Flame Hell Power to himself.
[Ding, detected similar skill. Flame Hell Power has merged with Fire Demon Tao.]
[Demon Flame LV7: Possesses the demonic power of flame, and can transform into Demon Flame to be immune to physical damage.]
"…"
"Well, that's fine."
Takatsuki looked at his other skills. After this wave of enhancements, the common skills were not worth mentioning. What he paid more attention to was his Armament Haki reaching LV4, Observation Haki reaching LV3, and Chakra reaching LV2
The first two were fine, but Chakra was truly useless. Fortunately, Chakra didn't require storage or training.
The use of Chakra was simply a fusion of physical and mental energy; higher levels only meant higher conversion efficiency. Any training was just to increase one's physical strength and mental energy.
So Takatsuki glanced at it and ignored it
He still remembered having a LV1 Transformation, but who would use that after getting Gaia Foundation!
After clearing out his inventory, Takatsuki began to switch his character cards to Kanjuro and Kishibe Rohan.
After his level increased, his cost reached 14. An S-rank character took 7 points, and an A-rank took 4 points, which was more than enough.
He even had 3 points to spare, but there was no need to equip B-rank commoner occupation cards.
Takatsuki's main purpose in equipping these two cards simultaneously was to use Kishibe Rohan's superb drawing ability in conjunction with the Brush Brush Fruit to test the effects of the Devil Fruit.
It seems this journey to find Seele will be long, and this ability, like Ma Liang's magic brush, greatly interests him. He also has ample time for testing.
...
Time flew by like a white steed galloping past a crevice.
Seven days passed quickly. Takatsuki continued to fall into the depths of the sea, and along the way, he had almost gotten used to all the abilities he mastered.
The Brush Brush Fruit, which he cared about the most, was no exception.
Fortunately, the Sea of Quanta does not cause negative effects for Devil Fruit users.
In short, Takatsuki discovered that drawing with the Brush Brush Fruit consumes the user's stamina, and if it's a living creature, it also consumes mental power, which is the so-called magic power.
The setting that Devil Fruit abilities become ineffective upon losing consciousness only applies to living beings.
Inanimate objects drawn by expending only stamina can exist indefinitely.
Initially, to test it, Takatsuki even drew consumables like food for experiments. Even after he slept, the feeling of fullness from the food did not disappear, which was undoubtedly good news.
Considering that he doesn't lack that bit of combat power now, Takatsuki did not withdraw the combination of these two cards.
"Hmm?"
As he fell, a strange reaction from afar was fed back into Takatsuki's perception.
Because the energy here was too abundant, Takatsuki had been absorbing the power of the sea along the way to improve his skill proficiency. Among them, his magic perception was also maximized, which led to his current magic perception range being more than ten times larger than before. However, this was only possible with the sea's blessing. Of course, he was also attacked by monsters dispatched by the sea because of this, but Takatsuki treated them as boring seasonings on his journey.1
He even used the sea's power to replenish his arsenal, stopping only when he found it troublesome.
After discovering the anomaly submerged at the bottom of the sea, Takatsuki put away all his playful thoughts.
After rushing at full speed, Takatsuki used the power he had acquired from the sea to tear through a black curtain and saw it.
The short-haired girl in black, submerged in the dark depths of the sea, was cradling a diary. She wore a white top, a blue vest, a dark blue and light blue checkered skirt, and long stockings adorned with blue stripes, along with delicate leather shoes.
The girl seemed to be sleeping at this moment, unaware that a stranger had entered this dark space.